We're sorry, you're not allowed to read this.

In the history book of bad ideas, the concept of giving corporations the right to censor the Internet has to rank among the worst ever.

But that's what the impact of two bills recently introduced in the US Congress would be if they, or anything like them, were enacted into law, and it's causing a righteous ruckus among free speech activists around the world.

In solidarity with major sites like Wikipedia, Boing Boing, and Reddit, the Greenpeace International website will be dark for 12 hours on the 18th of January to protest these two bills specifically, and the idea of empowering internet censorship in general.

If you don’t know what SOPA and PIPA are, you should look them up. While touted as efforts to curtail film and music piracy, they have the potential to allow corporations to censor online activism as well.

In a nutshell, these bills will enable corporations to effectively shut down websites that they believe are infringing their copyrights and trademarks. All they have to do is file notice (not prove to a court, but simply file notice) that their copyright has been infringed to a service provider, such as the one which registers the name greenpeace.org on the Internet, and that entity has 5 days to take action to end service to the site.

If in fact there was no copyright infringement, the service provider is immune from lawsuit by Greenpeace for taking the site down or suspending any other services.

In effect, the law says that copyright infringement is so great a crime that corporations can play judge and jury, presume guilt, and possibly infringe civil rights, free speech, and privacy in the defense of their interests.

They can demand that search engines and social networking sites block access to the targeted site, and that payment services and advertisers cease doing business with the accused site. A previous provision, that internet service providers block access to the site through the domain name system, has for now been removed: a good thing, perhaps, but not if it means a better chance for the rest of the bill’s draconian measures going through.

So what’s this got to do with online activism?

Well, it so happens that trademark infringement is part of the bill as well — and that is an open invitation to corporate abuse of SOPA/PIPA to silence critics.

We use corporations' own language, their own marketing, their own strength against them -- which is sometimes the only way that an entirely supporter-funded operation like ours can afford to put a spotlight on the negative side of their operations.

Thing is, while court case after court case has agreed with us that parody is a protected form of free speech, the corporations at the pointy end of our parodies tend to disagree. Exxon/Esso took us to court in France over alleged copyright infringement of their logo when we launched a campaign against them:Esso said we were in violation of their intellectual property rights. We said it was free speech. The court agreed with us, and in an historic decision, we won. But had that decision been left to Exxon/Esso, we would have been shut down.

Nestle's Kit Kat brand famously failed when they attempted to have our spoof video featuring their brand -- and critical of their support for rainforest destruction -- removed from YouTube for trademark violation. Hundreds of our supporters reposted the video on other sites and their own Facebook profiles.

Eventually, YouTube’s lawyers intervened and the video was restored. Under SOPA, YouTube *itself* could have been shut down for hosting our Kit Kat video. Facebook could have gone dark for hosting supporter samizdat. Greenpeace.org would have gone dark worldwide. And Kit Kat owner Nestle never would have been compelled by our supporters and their customers to revise their policy on palm oil procurement, a move which has struck a major blow to an industry which is mowing down orang-utan habitat in Indonesia to plant palm trees.

Which is why you need to oppose SOPA/PIPA. While the Obama administration has indicated they would veto any bill with some of the more draconian measures that have been considered, and SOPA itself has been "shelved indefinitely" we need to send a message, loud and clear, about how far we'll go to stop corporate censorship.

More than ever, the networked world is holding corporate interests accountable for their environmental and human rights abuses. Don’t let people power be silenced. Stop corporate censorship of the Internet.

The freedom of the internet is a symbol of what democracy & human rights stands for - Freedom of expression in a civilized manner. Website censors...

The freedom of the internet is a symbol of what democracy & human rights stands for - Freedom of expression in a civilized manner. Website censorship, like media censorship, takes away this basic right & prevents the sharing of ideas & ideals which helped bring humanity out of the dark ages & without which internet wouldn't even exist. Censorship is just another step away from this so called democracy & another towards the fashisim which it conceals.
There is no justifiable reason to take down the Greenpeace website regardless of the duration, if nothing else this only shows the government's opposition toward the hope for compassion & an end to suffering of the occupants of the world, & reinforces the governments obsession with destruction, violence & suffering.

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(Unregistered) DaitheSci
says:

Finally, finally, finally, something I can agree with Greenpeace about! Mostly your campaigns are either misinformed, malicious, lies, or just plain b...

Finally, finally, finally, something I can agree with Greenpeace about! Mostly your campaigns are either misinformed, malicious, lies, or just plain bad, but - even though you are deviating from what your poor subscribers paid you to do - I support you on this one. SOPA and PIPA must be stopped.

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Grateful Child
says:

Thanks very much Kumi, and Greenpeace. ...and for giving myself and others a more comprehensive understanding at what's at stake here. Horrific ...

Thanks very much Kumi, and Greenpeace. ...and for giving myself and others a more comprehensive understanding at what's at stake here. Horrific enough that everytime you watch a 30 second news clip, you get 30 seconds of advertising. A matter of time I suppose for the worms to find their way in. Thank God for Greenpeace, injecting us with the serum of light to defeat these parasites continually attacking the human race

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(Unregistered) James Larkin
says:

These corrupt politicians ( who receive huge funds from the bodies lobbying for this) must not be allowed to interfere with the Internet at all. Lets...

These corrupt politicians ( who receive huge funds from the bodies lobbying for this) must not be allowed to interfere with the Internet at all. Lets companies individually deal with their copyright problems but not not legislate and do not give corporations powers at act above the law. I'm sick and tired of America laying down the law to the world. It's time to tell the US to piss off and get back in to its kennel.

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(Unregistered) Case; Guatemala
says:

Yea, it`s the case of Guatemala, its colocating a publiciti whit logotips of Greenpeace International and making a enemistry to Greenpeace and Named to Mexico, in NATIONAL PEACE CONTEXT II of Guatemala.

Think globally, and this is a global idea.
7 Billion humans generate vast quantities of excrement.
I believe this excrement is capable of providing all human electrical demands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiolysis

Right now hydrogen is perceived as a negative by product, of Nuclear Energy, when it should be the product, as the Pentagon has considered.

reference info

Request for Information (RFI) on Deployable Reactor Technologies ...
The cover sheet and abstract must be submitted by Friday, April 30, 2010 by 4:00 p.m. (Eastern) to the following email address: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=d0792af88a6a4484b3aa9d0dfeaaf553&...

Since this is a potential monopoly of a global best practice technology, I can date this back to the following (deleted from the net) submission to the Environmental Assessment Panel
http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/010/0001/0001/0012/0002/0008/s7_e.htm

(Quote from text)
"One direction of research that could be selected by the Atomic Energy Control Board is the transformation of nuclear waste into a useful form of energy.
The radiolitic decomposition of organic materials generates hydrogen gas.
Hydrogen gas is a very useful energy course; burns clean with water as the emission by- product. Humans generate a phenomenal amount of organic waste. The United Nations is very concerned about oceanic contamination by organic waste. Human organic waste could be treated to prevent methane generation, then exposed to nuclear waste to generate hydrogen gas. The potential solving of three issues with one action."

Redirecting existing sewage systems to containment facilities would be a considerable infrastructure modification project.
It is the intense radiation that causes the conversion of organic material into hydrogen, therefore what some would consider the most dangerous waste because of its radiation would be the best for this utilization.

I believe the combination of clean water and clean air, will increase the life expectancy of humans.
The four main areas of concern globally are energy, food,water and air!
he radiolytic decomposion of organic materials generates Hydrogen. By using our sewage as a source of energy we also get clean air , clean water, and no ethanol use of food stocks. Eat food first, create energy after.

Simply replacing the fossil fuel powered electrical generating facilities with these plants, would reduce CO2 emissions, and CH4 emissions, to acceptable levels, globally.
This would require a completely new reactor facility capable of converting human waste into hydrogen and then burning the hydrogen to generate electricity on site.

This solution is sellable to citizens because of all the side issue solutions. I ve been able to convince most simply with concept of using nuclear waste to a productive end.
Superbugs ( antibiotic resistant ) apparently are created in the waters sewage is discharged into, which is one more side issue solution.

Anything not converting into hydrogen will potentially be disposed of using Transmutation.
The water emitted from hydrogen burning will have uses in leaching heavy metals from other contaminated site clean ups